


The Man from Michigan

by ivvana



Series: Man from Michigan [1]
Category: The Blacklist (US TV)
Genre: Blacklister, Depression, Drama, F/M, FBI, Investigations, Keenler - Freeform, TheBlacklist, psy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27786004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivvana/pseuds/ivvana
Summary: After losing Dom and Katarina, a depressed and confused Agent Keen decides to cut off any ties with Reddington and resume her life as a regular FBI Agent and single mom, managing her depression on how she knows best: drifting apart from people around her. However, Ressler has a different idea of what actually needs to be done.This is also my own exploration on who Raymond Reddington is.
Relationships: Keenler
Series: Man from Michigan [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032834
Comments: 6
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The story will unveil as I write it. So far, you can enjoy the first two chapters and a bit of third one.   
> Chapter #3 is currently in the drafts.

Never in a million years had Liz imagined Ressler would be fine after everything she put him through. She was part ashamed, part grateful for this. So, she tried harder than ever not to get him caught into the spider web that mind and life were. He deserved better and this thought that, from time to time, felt abrasive, like nails on tin. She closed her eyes to fight it back and a sigh came out of her lungs.  
“You OK, Keen?”, she heard from her left side.  
Ressler was driving carefully on the streets of DC due to the heavy rain and the madness of the rush hour. The traffic lights turning red gave him the chance to look at Liz while waiting for her reply.  
“Uhmm...”, she felt caught out off guard and finding a generic answer would not do the trick.  
“Yes, just the traffic being unbearable... I was just thinking it would be complicated to get back home in this weather”, she added knowing he would agree, especially since they spent their day in the SUV from one location to other.  
“Look, we can pick up Agnes now. With how things seem to be, we can arrive at the dance studio in like.. 20 minutes?”, he said checking the time on the board to be sure the math is right and sharing a glance to his right waiting for her confirmation that the plan is working.  
“And would it be OK for you to drive us back to the Post Office so I can pick up my car afterwards?”, Liz added a bit impressed he actually paid attention to her earlier phone conversation with Heather, the other single mom she shared the car-pooling responsibilities and the occasional bottle of wine. It was not the best news for Liz to find out Agnes was left at the ballet studio without anyone to take her home after an emergency Heather had that made her change plans very last minute.  
Ressler didn’t reply back. He just smiled without facing her.

***  
It was no news Ressler didn’t feel like talking. Not lately, at least. Too much has been said already. Too much has been done and mostly by her. In the last month, the silence treatment seemed to do the trick for both of them. She needed the space too. For mourning Katarina and Dom, for thinking about what all of this means to her, about Reddington and his excuses, about the worst decisions she made betraying the trust of her friends and colleagues.  
She told him that’s all done, broken, that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with any of this, that everything that matters to her from now on is being a mom to Agnes and going back to her traditional FBI work. Truth be told, he didn’t completely believe the Reddington part, but he fully understood her frustration and despair. Her apologies, her regrets about what happened mostly infuriated him.

He felt like a bad person for that and he wanted to just make her stop saying sorry and find excuses, so building a wall between them seemed to work.  
“I’ll take you both home, Agnes must be tired after school and ballet class. It makes no sense to spend another hour in traffic with her”, Ressler said after some time.  
His assumption was correct: she was moved by this tiny gesture as she was now looking directly at him with big eyes.  
“Don’t give me that look..” he smirked quite proud of himself.  
“Fine, no look for you!”, Liz spoke joyfully. She turned around to get out of the car while thinking of how fast she needs to be to avoid getting wet.  
“I’ll be right back…”, she added.  
Ressler took off his grey overcoat and handed it over to her as she was just preparing to open the side door:  
“Take my coat to cover Agnes, no umbrella - sorry…”, Saying this, he also took a mental note to be more prepared for situations such as this one. For example, he could have kept in the glove compartment some heathy snacks or juice boxes for the kid as a just in case situation. Not to mention an umbrella, a hat, or even a stuffed toy for when she is said, like that time she went to the dentist.  
Lost in these thoughts, Ressler didn’t even notice Liz was silently fixing him with her gaze. He simply assumed she’d say something about not being his duty to carry on an umbrella or say something about how amazing he was (which he knew well he was), but he just didn’t want to hear it. So, he politely smiled back.

***

Few minutes later, Agnes rushed to the car wearing his coat as a cape.  
“Hiiiiiiii!”, her voice filled the car as bells.  
“Hello there! Look at you, you look like a superhero wearing my coat like that!”, Ressler was absolutely thrilled to see the little girl and Liz couldn’t notice how his voice always changed when the two were talking. His tone was softer, he always had the right words to make her respond in creative ways.  
“What do you say, Agnes?”  
“Thank you, Don!”, Agnes said jumping behind the driver’ seat to reach out to Ressler and hug him from behind the chair.  
“Well, aren’t you the sweetest?” Ressler seemed completely moved by the little girl’s gesture. He caressed the tiny hands placed around his neck while meeting Liz’s eyes.  
Liz felt selfish for wanting more of these moments and, again, hated herself for messing things up so badly. Ressler’s forgiveness would take more time, she knew that well. After all, that intense smile that he was giving and that made time stay still was all about Agnes. Her share of  
“Mommy, can we get cheesecake for dinner?”  
“Cheesecake for dinner? How about some pop roast and mashed potatoes?”, Liz replied hoping not to get too much resistance.  
“Mhmmm.. What do you eat for dinner, Don?”, Agnes was clearly looking for an ally.  
Ressler’s smirked knowing her game: “I am having my favorite: pop roast and mashed potatoes!”  
“Is Don coming to dinner, mom?” Agnes enthusiastically asked taking Liz by surprise.  
“He is our guest…if he wants, of course!”, Liz didn’t feel good about being put in this position mostly because he was afraid he would roughly jump in and say he has other plans.  
“Are you actually cooking?”, he softly asked.  
“If by cooking you mean ordering in, than yes”, she replied almost feeling bad about her lack of interest in this department. “You know, that small restaurant from down the street.”  
“I like them, very homey”, Ressler added.  
“So.. you’ll join us, right?”  
Ressler nodded: “A man’s gotta eat, Keen…”  
“Mommy, but can we have cheesecake for dessert?”  
“Not today. But I promise you a cookie.”  
“Yeah!” Agnes cheered from the back seat.  
“Do I get a cookie?”, Ressler grinned at Liz.  
“Depending on how you behave …”  
“I can share my cookie with you”, the little girl intervened.  
Once again, Liz hated herself for being selfish and wanting for more of these endearing moments between them.

***

“No, I don’t want to talk about it and please don’t take it the wrong way.”  
Liz’s closed her eyes not being able to face him.  
The dinner was enjoyable with Agnes having a lot of things to share about her day and Ressler asking her a ton of question that made the little girl feel proud about her achievements such as learning about bees or being able to read half of story by herself or doing a new dance routine.  
However, things took a different route when Donald decided to discuss Reddington’s reasons behind murdering Katarina. He started the conversation seconds after Agnes went to bed. Without any warning, he stepped in the living room reminding her about Red’s strange acting when they found Dom.  
And she didn’t want to hear a word. Not about Red. Not about all this nightmare she is living since she met him.  
It was the 4th time he opened the discussion.  
The first time, she was sitting on his coach. She went to him for comfort, for his embrace, for his caressing. However, she ended up crying for hours and the only words that came out of her mouth were a long string of “I’m sorry..”.  
The second time, she yelled at him to leave her alone and got out of the car. She cried all the way back home.  
The third time, it happened in their shared office. She again asked for his forgiveness and, this time, he was the one who left the room leaving her behind.  
Now – once again – Ressler opened this topic and – again - she still couldn’t handle it.  
“Liz…”, he said with a softer tone.  
Words felt heavy on her tongue.  
“Liz…”, again his voice calling out in an even softer tone.  
“I’m selfish like that… This only brings loss, pain, frustration”, she said turning her head to the messy coffee table and starting to count how many things were there, but shouldn’t be: old magazines, cups of tea or coffee, toys, pencils, one iPad, chargers for everything possible…  
Mechanically, she started the cleaning process.  
“I care for you, I want you to be Ok and you clearly aren’t!”  
Liz knew that, but she was still angry it was pointed out at her. So she decided to ignore her partner and continue to arrange old magazines and moving aside the coffee cups.  
“This thing with Reddignton, we just need to somehow look into it”, he grabs her by the elbow while saying it.  
Touching her seems to work as she stopped from her cleaning routine.  
Feeling rejected must be the worst feeling in the world. It’s like falling from the 98th floor. Head down. It was all circling back to the “WHY” behind the gesture. This ocean of “WHYs” that has been drowning her for 8 years.  
Again, she felt safer not to say anything. His arm was pulling her closer. She didn’t leave the magazines on the table tough. She needed something to hold on to that was not Ressler.  
“Please, give me a few moments and listen. Can you do that?”  
“Fine.” She knew this sounded colder than intended when he heard him sighing.  
Ressler let go of her and went straight to the kitchen.  
“Wine?”, he asked from behind the cabinet reading the labels of one of the bottles she had in the improvised bar.  
“…yes?!”, she wavery replied.  
Ressler returned to the living room with 2 glasses in one hand and an already-opened bottle in the other, placed them on the coffee table she cleaned moments ago.  
“Liz?”, he gave her one of his quirky looks.  
She went towards the couch, threw the magazines below the table and ensured there is some distance between the two of them now that there was wine in the picture. Being handed the glass, she started drinking.  
Ressler was quietly looking at her.  
“Liz, I have an idea how to resume this search. You deserve to find out, you deserve answers and it’s clear he’s not gonna share anything”, he took a sip from his glass.  
“Finding out the real story caused the death of my mother and grandfather…”, her voice sounded more tearful than she wanted. “I’ve lost so, so much…”, she sighed and looked at him.  
Last thing she wanted was to start crying.  
“And look at me, I am here crying in front of you. Again! Nothing new here, huh?”, she faked a smile.  
Ressler sighed, took the glass from her hand, put it on the table and faced her.  
“Not me, you didn’t lose me. You KNOW that. And you ain’t gonna lose me, ok?”. His voice sounded reassuring.  
None of them said anything for a longer while. Silence and wine seemed to fill in that void.  
“I’ve been thinking ever since I saw him standing next to Dom that we have asked the wrong questions”, Ressler broke the heavy silence. “The real Reddignton vs. the Imposter. What is the link? This is what we assumed, but never actually looked into the real connection.”  
Liz was biting her lip not to interrupt him. She had to give this to him, to listen until the end.  
“Think about it, who would want to pretend to be a criminal? A paria? We need to go back to the roots, back to Michigan, we need dig everything about the real Raymond”.  
“And how are we going to do it? You realise he’ll find out if we do something and he’ll stop at nothing!” Liz was staring at him in dismay.  
“Look.. I am from Detroit, my father was a cop, I have connections and… I will be honest, Ithink I have a real lead. I asked Robbie to do some PI for me, but we need to be there in person to meet some people, look into some things”, Ressler added trying not make a big deal out of it.  
It didn’t work as Liz was appalled and she was not hiding it.  
“Red knows we are close. You and I. He knows we… “Ressler stopped for a moment to meet her eyes. “As far as he’s concerned, we are an item, a sort of family. Right?” his eyes, still fixing hers, were looking for confirmation.  
She nodded with a glimpse of hopefulness that this will become a reality at some point in a future where things are not as hectic as now.  
Ressler continued to share his plan: “We go to my mom for – you know – normal family visit, a vacation time. God knows you need one!”, he smirked and even if she couldn’t say a word back, she replied with a smile.  
“A vacation that is also a business trip?” she finally broke her silentio stampa.  
He smiled and took another sip of wine.

***

The flight itself felt as a vacation having Agnes and Donald joking and laughing all the time. Liz asked herself many times what she feels about the whole idea now that they were landing in Detroit.

At least, if there is anything else apart from an undefined fear and some big amount of skepticism. Her answer was unequivocally the same: she felt nothing. She was too tired to be more analytical and ask more questions or look at this form an angle that made it worth it.

She decided her trusting Donald should be enough and this was the main reason why she went with the flow. Him taking the lead and continuously planning their trip really made it easier for her. But she also needed a break from everything.

Agnes was giggling hand in hand with Ressler who, now, seemed to be making other plans for them. It had to do with snorkeling and boats and islands, which made Liz react by raising an eye brow in his direction.

“That is if Cooper allows us more time off…”, Liz interrupted the fun.

“Oh, he’ll understand… We’ll bring him a souvenir, right Agnes?”, he took the little girl’s hand. “What would you bring back from an island?”

“A fish!”, she replied laughing. “Like Nemo!”

“Really?”, Ressler seemed very impressed with the answer given and continued the two of them conversation about travelling fish.

They were quite creative and that made Liz feel awkward for her lack of energy and imagination. So, she let the two of them continue their plans on how they’d bring back a very colored fish for everyone they know, including a luminescent fish for Uncle Aram. To feel more useful, she start to look up for Robbie who offered a ride to the Ressler’s home.

***

Liz being absent from everything around her worried Donald more and more. He focused on Agnes the whole time on the plane, during dinners and at the park getaways. However, he couldn’t stop blaming himself for not being able to help out Liz to overcome this status. He many times wondered if Agnes is noticing these things. She had to, after all. There were many times she was calling her mom and Liz reacted with a considerable delay.

What was she thinking of so much, what’s happening in her head? It would not be difficult for him to guess. He just didn’t want to open that Pandora’s box. Now, Agnes needed more attention. His main worry was that this situation would become noticeable to others. Aram, Cooper and Park were constantly asking him about how Liz is doing, not because she was not performing, but because she always seemed tired and lacked the energy.

About two weeks ago, he was surprised to receive a call from Heather, one of the very few friends Liz had outside the office. She shared her worries about Liz always posting on the school activities online forum at the strangest hours (3-4 am), her permanent dark circles, fading out in the conversations, avoiding their usual gatherings.

However, what worried him the most was the sudden presence of the very observant grandmother Agnes had. Scottie was back in the picture and Ressler’s intuition was telling him it was not just genuine concern. He assumed Scottie is up to date with what happened, she had her ways – after all. But Scottie was disapproving of Liz’s job and always felt she could offer more stability to Agnes.

This last thought made him feel angry. Agnes was a joyful, curious, intelligent, reasonable kid. She loved her mom, enjoyed her life with everything in it, including the people. She loved him too, she said that every time they ended up doing something together – like painting her room yellow with blue polka dots or going to the pet-farm on Sundays. Agnes couldn’t care less about her grandma’s museum-like house or promised tuitions for private schools.

And Ressler adored her. He knew he’d do anything for that little girl. This time it was more about her than it was about Keen. Their new quest was about making Liz come out of the darkness.

Taking them to his hometown would be a sane thing to do. First of all, the leads he already seemed to take somewhere. At the same time, it was also about his mom who understood quite well loss. He was counting for her wisdom to empower Liz. Not to mention, how lovely it would be for Agnes to bein the middle of a big, fun, sometimes odd, but always loving real family.

He continued to stroll the suitcase towards the exit with Agnes cheering on top of it, when he heard a very surprised Robbie welcoming them:

“I didn’t know we’d have a princess at the house, little brother!”

***

Liz and Agnes, who was almost sleeping, slipped to the back seat, letting Donald and Robbie catch-up in the front seats.

“So what did you tell mom?”, Ressler asked, on his usual serious tone, once the car started.

“Nothing about what we plan to do”, answered Robbie looking in the mirror to be sure Liz is also hearing what they say. “She knows you’re bringing home your girlfriend, you know – meet the family and stuff..”

Liz smirked on the backseat, while Donald’s face turned right to look at the streets. 

“She’s quite excited about the little one”, Robbie added sensing there is something weird in the air. “She made plans to meet with all of our cousins for playdates and – guess what?”, he asked waiting for any reactions from either Liz or Don.

“What?”, Donald said not quite enthusiastically.

Robbie looked at the back seat to check up on Agnes and make sure he doesn’t ruin a potential surprise. Agnes was sleeping on her mom's lap.

“Mom brought home Barkley IV!”

Liz noticed how, out of the sudden, their faces light up as they were children seeing Santa’s present in the Christmas day and curiously stepped in:

“Whaaat? I assume it’s about a dog since the name <Barkley>”, she enthusiastically asked.

“Just the best dog… I mean, all the Barkleys are awesome, but this one is a-ma-zing!”, Robbie added.

Ressler turned his head to face her. He had a huge smile on:

“He’s a German Shepperd. Smartest line of dogs. Barkley I was in my dad’s team. We had it at the house all the time. Actually, we never had our own dog because of Barkley. Mom took him in when he got retired and continued to do so with all of his pups, every few years - she had a police dog and offered him the best retirement ever. But after Barkley III she told us she is now too old to take care of an even older dog. Broke our hearts...”

“That’s lovely! Was it a way to still feel connected to your dad after…”, Liz stopped in the middle of the question realizing she might have went in the wrong direction.

Ressler chose not to take this path and, again moving his head to back of the car replied:

“She loves these dogs, I think sometimes she preferred the dogs instead of us…”

“Well, I think the dogs were smarter and cleaner than us. So.. Can you actually blame her?”, Robbie added.

They all shared a good laugh.

“Barkley IV is about 4 years old, he has been too playful and got replaced, he doesn't have too many missions completed. Agnes will love playing catch with him!”

Liz was smiling at the picture inside her mind: a backyard, Agnes, a fun dog and a frisbee. And Don was there too. This made her smile even more.

“Thank you”, she said on a soft voice as Ressler turned his head to meet her eyes. Liz knew Ressler must have mentioned to his mom how much Agnes loves dogs (and how much she wants one of her one). The two of them usually spend a lot of time at the doggy park and were even planning to volunteer as dog walkers at the shelter just for Agnes to understand better the responsibility of having a dog. It was one of these things the two of them always do: Donald treating Agnes as a real grown up, wanting for her to understand how the world works. Same as when they painted her room with polka dots when it could just worked out keeping it yellow. Or when Ressler, together with Aram, helped Agnes with a school project and the three of them ended up sleeping on the floor for 2 nights in a row just to finish it. When Liz said they could have built the volcano in under a couple of hours, Ressler disagreed and said how great it was for Agnes to know what she wants and how amazing she has been coming up with iedeas on how do do everything while he and Aram were just executing. "You know, as we do at the office", he smirked and Liz was, once again, speechless in front of him. She sighed at the memory of it when Robbie broke the silence:

“But we do need to talk as soon as possible. The three of us. I have something. At least, I think I have.."


	2. Home is Where the Heart Skips a beat

41 days.

Raymond Reddington was going through his very rich vinyl collection. He was in the mood for playing something cheerful, something that would take his mind off of how long he kept himself away from Elizabeth. Of course, he had eyes and ears. But he also had concerns. Too many to simply leave it like that. Their conversations went awry every time he tried to explain.

“Let’s see if Louie does the trick”, he told to himself as he placed the needle on the record.

From the other side of the room, Dembe was silently watching him.

“You look like there’s something on your mind pushing heavier than a piano.." Red's attention was at the pickup record, choosing not to eye the tall, dark, always to serious man.

Dembe kept silent for a little longer while Louis Armstrong filled the room with his gravelly, fascinating voice. He watched Red filling a glass of bourbon and waving his head to the rhythm of the song.

“I am listening”, Red cut the tension. His stern voice made Dembe bit his lip and move closer. 

“She is in Detroit”, he informed Red who, instead of replying or asking for more details, exhaled deeply and took a sip of his drink.

“She’s there with Ressler and Agnes”, Dembe added. Knowing Red well, he didn't quite expect an interruption. So, he continued: “They left directly from Ressler’s apartment. This is why we didn't know at first where they disappeared. However, we checked the footage from the inside parking lot. We saw him loading luggage in his car 2 days ago, leaving by himself. Liz and Agnes went out next morning. Park, breakfast, the usual. Then they took a cab straight to the airport.”

Red took another sip of his amber drink.

“Is this supposed to be a family vacation of some sort?”

“They are staying at Ressler’s family. I would say yes”. Dembe knew Red was not convinced and, most of al, did not like the situation.

“Raymond, Elizabeth has been through a lot. She needed some time off, a vacation. It makes sense to go there with Ressler. It's safe.”

“What you want to say is that I’ve put Elizabeth through a lot. Either way, Maui is a vacation, not Agent Ressler’s suburban middle-class childhood home in Michigan.”

“You think there is more to it…”, Dembe launched the invitation for Red to share what was really his mind. He leaned towards the wall and, with a bated breathe, added:

“When I met Ressler, he didn’t say anything about taking time off. This is the truth, Raymond. However, he was visibly concerned about her wellbeing and about how all this is reflecting on Agnes" Dembe’s effort to be the voice of reason was welcomed by Red with a bristly, cold look.

“We need to take care of something, come on”, Red got up and took his fedora from the dining table.

***

Harold was not at least surprised to see Reddington. He has been waiting for him to make an appearance at some point and knew exactly what he’d gonna say:

“You are losing your time here.”

However, Red choose to ignore the unfriendly welcome.

“Good to see you too, Harold!”, he said putting the most charming smile on.

Harold squinted at him showing no intention to change his attitude towards the criminal. He started to move around the war room ignoring also a quite shaky Aram who was not 100% convinced of what is expected of him to do or say under the circumstance.

“Mr. Reddington, wha-what are you doing here?”, Parker joined the crowd from the office visibly surprised of the appearence.

Reddington didn't pay any attention to the two agents and continuously kept his eyes on Cooper:

“Allow me to say you’ll be pleased with what I have for you, Harold! I dare to say thrilled!”

“Mr. Reddington, is there a case you want to share with us?”, Aram started to regret opening his mouth.

“Spot on, Aram! However...", he emphasized by pausing for breath: "I would rather have the full team here to share it. It’s quite a hoot!”, he kept his smile on and arranged the fedora with his index finger as the real show man he was.

But everyone kept silent.

Aram decided not to say another word, so he moved his attention to Dembe who was quite distant and not supporting Red's eyes the way he usually did. His point of focus was surprisingly his shoes which felt a bit odd to the young agent. He quickly moved his eyes towards Park, noticing her staring at Reddington and swallowing her words. She clearly wanted something more interesting to work on than their usual cases.

As the silence continued to fill the room, Reddington's smile faded.

Thinking this will make them leave, Cooper voiced out:

“Agents Ressler and Keen are not available. “Whatever you want to share about a potential case, the three of us here will listen and decide accordingly.”

Aram took a step closer to his partner, but continued to notice Dembe while waiting for the rest of the discussion.

“Intriguing!”, Red said while moving around the room. “Dare I ask why they are not around at their very demanding, important, full of accomplishments jobs?”

“None of your business, Reddington. They are entitled to take a vacation. It just happened they did this at the same time. Anything else?”

Reddington's smile disappeared completely and on an austere voice replied:

“Not for me to comment on why two of your lead agents take time off at exactly the same time. It might be that they decided to elope or just run together to fight ghosts…

“You’re right”, Cooper interrupted him. “It’s not for you to comment.”

“My only intention has been and is keeping Elizabeth safe”, Reddington’s voice changed to a softer note.

“Wait.. Mr. Reddington, do you have any reason to think she is not safe?”, Park finally stepped into the conversation.

Aram almost started to hyperventilate hearing this last part of the conversation and couldn't control himself to keep quier:

“Liz.. they are just having some family time at Agent Ressler’s mom… if they are in any danger… please just say so we can do something!”

Reddington studied Aram’s face for a few seconds then added:

“She always is in danger. It’s the price of being who she is.”

Aram knew it would not be smart to say anything else at that point. He sighed and, once again, moved his attention to Dembe who still in his own bubble.

“Chandler Zig”, Reddington said out of the sudden. “It’s not a name that should tell you anything.”

Aram quickly typed the name in the FBI DB and 4 names appeared.

“Save your time, Aram, none of these people aren’t even remotely connected to the one I am telling you about.

All 3 pairs of eyes were looking at Reddington anticipating other fascinating details about a person they, otherwise, would have never know existed.

***

As the smooth engine of the car turned on, Dembe looked in the rear view and said:

“You gave them the case…”

“Just keeping them busy”, Red replied without putting any effort in making it sound convincing. 

***

That had to be one of the strangest images unfolded in front of Liz's eyes. Not that was bad. It only out of her ordinary life.

Agnes was sitting at the tall kitchen counter with Ressler’s mother standing next to her on one side and Barkley on the other. Lisa was helping her with the toppings for what seemed to be a pancake, while the dog was waiting for some food to be shared with him. At the same time, the two Ressler brothers were wearing colorful aprons and managing frypans. Robbie seemed to be in charge of the omelet and bacon department, while Don was mastering his fluffy pancakes Agnes loved.

“Did we wake you up, honey?”, Lisa Ressler asked her vividly worried that they have not been quiet enough.

“Not at all.. Good morning, everyone… Wow, it smells amazing in here”, Liz said surprised.

“Mommy-mommy!”

“Good morning, sweetie!”, Liz went straight to Agnes and hugged her. “Did you sleep well?”

Agnes enthusiastically nodded: “Barkley was there when I woke up, he gave me kisses and we played with the ball!“

Her giggles filled the room making everyone smile.

Liz's arms didn't let go of Agnes for a few moments when Don, charmingly, came to her with a plate of pancakes.

“I hope it’s OK with you I helped Agnes with her morning routine, Barkley announced me she is up”, Lisa said to Liz caressing the little girl's hair.

“She is such a sweet girl! When she saw you sleeping on the coach, she asked us to let you sleep more”, she added.

“I hope it was not too much trouble…”, Liz's voice changed. She visibly felt bad about how she ended up sleeping more than her daughter.

“Not at all, please don't feel bad", she placed her hand on Liz's hand, looking her in the eyes. "Agnes is a piece of cake, not like these two were…”, Lisa eyed her sons and dramatically sighed. T

“And coffee, just the way you like it!”, Ressler brought a cup of coffee to Liz interrupting the moment.

Liz took it and whispered a soft "Thank you!".

After the first sip of coffee, what stroke Liz was the fact that she managed to sleep throughout the night. And it was such a long, deep sleep. It felt her feel calm, complete. 

***

After their arrival the day before, time quickly flew by. There was no window to sit and discuss with Robbie.

Agnes has been the center of attention the entire night, captivating the new audience with her laughs and stories. Lisa adored her from the first second, the two of them ended up making a lot of plans for the upcoming days: from visits to other family friends, to museums and shows. Not to mention that, having a dog around for few days contributed heavily to the little girl's exultation. Surprisingly, she was great at playing with Barkley. 

To Liz's dimay, Robbie had to leave quite early for a personal matter, so his findings were still an enigma. Liz didn't ask too many questions, knowing Donald would have mentioned anything that is relevant. There is also an agreement between them not to talk too much around the house. Truth be told, Liz would have preferred not to discuss anything at all. However, she knew Don's intentions are good and she trusted him completely as he continued to be by her side even if they have not been on the same page. 

On the other hand, despite their sterile conversations, she appreciated how calm, joyful and playful he was around Agnes. Now, since they've arrived in Detroit, he has been very tactful in bringing his mom up to date with what their lives were. Lisa knew how to ask questions, which Liz found to be impressive. "A family of cops...", she thought for herself. And Donald shared bits and pieces from their FBI-life, leaving aside the challenging part, the things that had to do with witnessing murders, shootings, being chased, being hurt, being kidnapped. That was just for them to know. On the other hand, she had a feeling Lisa knew more than she let it see. From time to time, she threw empathetic glances at Liz. 

Ressler called relatives and friends, invited them over for a barbeque while he was there, planning with his mom quite a reunion. There was a sense of normality in all this that intrigued Liz and, again, she started to dislike her own person. Would she ever be capable of having this normal, serene life? She was convinced that was impossible and the thought itself made her feel ill.

"You are brave, Liz", Lisa told her when they were cleaning up the dishes. "There are very few who can do this job. It makes me feel better, as a mother, knowing you and Don work together and keep each other safe."

"Thank you, this means a lot..."

"Don told me you've lost your mother recently... Please accept my condolences!"

Liz was stunned: "I didn't realise Don shared that part of my life.."

"He told me it's complicated and I should not ask too much, although I never do... I learned that from the 20 years of being married with a cop!", she smiled sorrowfully. "Don't take it the wrong way, please. He was just worried about you, he wanted some advising from someone who experienced loss."

Liz groaned as she took a seat at the table, not being able to say anything.

From the other room, she heard Ressler as he was trying to convince Agnes it's time to go to bed. They were in the middle of a negotiation. Liz turned her head trying to understand what their saying. Without noticing, she smiled which surprised Lisa.

"Everything OK?"

"He's so good with her...", Liz said. "I.. have only recently met her, my mother. It's a complicated, a really long and terrible story." 

Lisa placed an empty cup on the counter, in front of Liz and returned for the tea selection. Liz choose the mint tea and continued: "Don speaks so highly of you, I am sure you know. His calmness and this brilliant 6th feeling f his when it comes of people he cares about... These come from you, I can see that."

Hearing these words made Lisa simper. She tenderly touched Liz's elbow: "I am so happy the three of you are here!"

***

It was past midnight when Liz got out of the bed, deciding to give up on ever shutting her eyes. In the twin bed, Agnes and Barkley were enjoying quite a deep sleep. The dog was blissfully snoring and made Liz laugh for a few seconds. She arranged the blanket around them and softly kissed the little hand placed over Barkley's back. 

Going downstairs for a glass of water, she was surprised to find Donald still awake in the pale lighted living room. He was laying down the coach, his bed for the next few nights, well tucked under a green blanket. He was flapping through a magazine.

“Are those comics?”, she asked low-voiced, not trying to hard to hide her amusement.

“Oh..”, he welcomed her with a sneer. “I told Agnes about my comics collection and promised her some stories… and guess what?”

“They’re not age-appropriate? I’m shocked”, she said while taking a seat on the coach, making herself comfortable.

“Laugh all you want, these are a national treasure. I loved comics growing up. To be honest, I think this superhero vs. villain might have influenced me more than I realised. No wonder I ended up a cop”, Ressler sounded more nostalgic than he intended. 

Liz knew quiet well the story of how he decided to step in his father’s footsteps. But she didn’t want to go there.

“So which superhero are you? Or is it a villain?”, she smirked.

Ressler laughed: “It depends, right? Sometimes superheroes can be very boring. They don’t even get the girl.”

“You can never be boring!”, she said in a rush and he flashed a smile.

“What about now? You are fighting villains at out job, so this might make you quite the superhero..”, Liz added shyly and bit her lip thinking she might went to far.

He wordlessly looked her in the eyes for a few moments that seemed an eternity for Liz.

“Honestly?", he sighed. "I don’t believe in heroes nor in villains since..”, Donald stopped for a second weighing in the implications of what he would say next. “Since you and Reddington… has it been how many years now?”

Liz was left speechless and the first thought that struck her had to do with her being a villain.

Noticing her blue eyes turning dark, Donald softly grabbed Liz by the arm. He knew it was not the best phrasing.

“Hey.. come here…”, he pulled her closer.

“There are no heroes nor villains, Liz. It’s never just white and black and black and white. There are people and many shades of gray.”

Liz still kept quiet, unconvinced. How couldn't he see she is a villain, the worst of people, the one bringing death and trouble?

Donald's hand didn't let go of her, even if she tried resisting him. But she couldn’t fight back that moment for too long and, finally, allowed feeling that embrace with all of her being. 

After they stood soundless, he slowly moved to the back of the coach, leaving her some space to lay down next to him.

“Is it OK if I sleep here?”, Liz asked faintly. Donald didn't reply, but he pulled her even closer, covering her with the blanket and placed his arm around her.

It didn’t took long for her to feel asleep.

***

There haven’t been many times when Dembe has been caught off guard like that. Ressler’s voice calling out his name felt galvanic. Not that the two have had much of a friendship, but there was a mutual respect and, of course, there was Liz for whom they both cared immensely.

“So… should I assume this is all a coincidence, you driving by the neighborhood, passing by?”, Ressler spoke as he was approaching.

Dembe’s car was parked a few blocks away from Liz’s building. He was just finishing a call with the guys who were, in fact, sitting in front of her building watching over the apartment. He was getting the updates of the day, mentally preparing the briefing for Reddington.

“Ressler… I suggest we talk”, Dembe said in his minimalism, calming manner. His eyes moved from the ginger Agent to the right seat of his car as an invitation and Ressler silently accepted it. He slipped into the passenger seat and, taking a deep breath, he said: “I’m listening.”

“We want to be sure Elizabeth is safe”, it was the first thing Dembe stated choosing not to mention Reddington’s name from the beginning.

“That’s not your job anymore. Keen made it clear. So – unless there is something else… Maybe you should take your people and those 3 cars that keep rotating in front of her building and disappear”, Ressler said.

“It’s not that simple.” Dembe didn’t even bother to ask how he noticed the cars since they had quite the execution in place. In any case, he knew well Ressler was almost daily at Liz’s apartment, but he was usually in his car, not walking on the streets nearby to get shopping done.

“What exactly is not simple? You simply drive away and never ever return here? I am sure Reddington has other associates of his that he wants followed closely”, Ressler was starting to lose his patience. “Look, there is obviously something else that Reddington keeps for himself. This is why, after all, we are in this goddamn situation.”

“There are worse enemies, real enemies. Katarina summoned up some long-gone monsters, Ressler.”

Donald was not expecting to be told that so bluntly and, for the first time since the conversation kicked-off, his head turned to Dembe to get a confirmation that what he has just been told is true.

“What would Reddington do if he finds out you let this out?”, he challenged Dembe.

“Look, this is not easy for me because I care about Elizabeth and there are things out of my control.”

Ressler knew Dembe had already spoken more than he could. He didn't to push Dembe's limits.

“Keen… Liz.. She is not in the best state right now...”

Dembe noticed how Ressler’s face changed saying this. He didn’t ask any follow-up question, sensing there is more coming his way. And he was right:

“I am worried. I am worried about Agnes too. It’s not just the bereavement as everyone seem to think”, added Ressler.

“Is this why you are always around?”, Dembe asked, but didn’t get any reply.

“If she is threatened, if someone is after her… I doubt she can do too much protecting herself or Agnes”, he sighed. “So I need to know what the hell is happening, why Reddington’s army is around.”

“Raymond won’t allow for them to be hurt”, were the only words Dembe spoke even if he was visibly impressed by Ressler’s own struggle.

“Raymond?”, Ressler sniffed indignantly. “Raymond Reddington is the only one who hurt her. He brought her to the point of self-destruction. He is the one that completely messed up her life and, after all this, he still refuses to come clean.”

He was up in flames and Dembe didn’t feel like there is anything worth saying to exonerate his boss from all these accusations.

“I need to go”, Ressler prepared to open the door of the car. “Just... if there is a real danger, just…”

“I’ll let you know”, Dembe said.

“And, Dembe…”, he got out of the car hesitating. He looked back at Dembe for a few seconds, then slowly closed the door.

Dembe watched him walk towards Liz’s street. Only when he was far enough he noticed Ressler was holding a bag with stuffed toy in it.

***

As Liz was returning from the coffee cart, she told herself how beautiful the park was, even in the cold, cloudy weather. Agnes was running with some children she instantly befriended, while Donald and Robbie were sitting around a chess table, facing each other from opposite benches. It was their first outing since they arrived in Detroit. Lisa was happy to have them outside the house for a while, as she was planning the preparations for a big family dinner. For them it was the perfect opportunity to have the talk they kept on postponing.

Liz placed Robbie’s cup of coffee on the table and took a seat next to Ressler.

“Robbie was just telling me where we could go next…”

“So, Liz, what I did was not too much trouble, first of all.. Little brother gave me the addresses linked to this Raymond Reddington, before he joined the Naval Academy. Four addresses. I went to each of these places, Robbie looked at Donald waiting for a confirmation if he should continue or not.

Liz didn’t say anything even if she wanted to ask how much Robbie actually knows about Red, about her, about Katarina, Dom, about everything. For the moment, she simply decided to keep quiet knowing Ressler will only give out what is needed. Besides that, they were all in the same boat since the Tommy Markin incident. 

Ressler took over the discussion:

“As I told you, we need to zoom in into this guy’s past. Find out where he lived, who is family, friends were... everything.”

Liz nodded.

“Reddington.. The fake one.. he told me, told us he was from Michigan”, she said although this was not quite the news.

“Yes”, said Robbie. “All these 4 addresses are in Michigan. I've been to each of them. Don told me he wants a full picture. So: what is interesting is that 2 of these addresses are homes owned by the same families for decades. I pretended I want to buy a house around the block, it was fun”, he sounded quite proud of his ingenuity.

Both Liz and Donald let him enjoy the moment. Meanwhile, Agnes waved them from further way and they all smiled at her.

“I told them I was a marine, that my wife is a cop to see if they have reactions of any sort. Nothing. I asked around the block for references still playing this charade. Nothing strange from anyone and I talked to more than 25 people.”

Liz seemed impressed.

“If someone knew the real Reddington, they would have somehow reacted. These were just regular people, with regular jobs. Robbie looked into most of them using the PD Database - favor from a a friend of ours - don't worry”, Ressler concluded. “Absolutely out of the ordinary: no missing children, no accidents, strange deaths."

“So this leaves us with the other 2 leads…”, Liz thought she could be participating more actively in this investigation.

“One of them is in a not so nice neighborhood. That’s a place that still needs some digging because people don’t want to talk. House is still there, but people who live in it aren’t very collaborative”, Robbie said. "It's an old house, almost a ruin. Not clear who the owner is, if they're still alive and people around are junkies.

“We need to change the tactic there”, Donald grasped.

“It’s not like we can get a team to help us or get a search warning..”, Liz smiled at him. He knew she was right.

“Let’s park this one, we'll figure it out.. Now the last one: I kept it last because that’s the most intriguing one. The address is a warehouse and it has been a warehouse since the early 70s..”

Liz smiled and place her hand on Ressler’s shoulder.

“Isn’t this a bit too familiar!?” she remarked.

“You did good, big brother… Quite the detective!”

Robbie was feeling glad to have contributed to something he knew was a bigger puzzle.

As they were all caught in a moment of silence digesting the info and thinking what their next move could be, Agnes came over to hug her mother.

The beautiful moment was, unfortunately ruined by the vibrating phone in front of Donald. Aram’s name appeared on the screen.

“Agent Ressler.. uhmm.. hi”, at the other end, Aram sounded more nervous than usual.

Donald hesitate if he should move away to talk so he won't expose Agnes to something, but decided it is safe to continue when he saw Robbie taking Agnes to the coffee cart for another round of drinks.

Liz, on the other hands, was looking at him waiting to find out what it’s all about.

“So.. we have a case. I mean I know you are off and so is Agent Keen, but this one..”

“Aram, just speak”, Ressler cut it short.

“Mr. Reddington gave us the name of a blacklister. I thought you should know this."

“He says Reddington gave them a case”, Ressler said to Liz noticing how her blue gaze transformed into something undefined.

“Oh, is Liz there? Could you please say hi from me?”

“Aram says hi”, Ressler complies, but only because he knows Liz might feel a bit better hearing Aram is thinking of her.

And, as usual, it proved he was right: Liz couldn't help a smile.

“Ok, so what’s the scoop here?”

“It’s a guy that doesn’t exist anywhere – the name is Chandler Zig. Mr. Reddington said there is a 500 million dollars bounty on his head for what he did.”

“What he did?”, Ressler sounded impatient.

“Yes. Have you heard of Lucius Toll?”

“No.”

“It’s on the dark web. People ask for things in change of virtual money. People who enroll in getting those things pay a lot of money to participate to this… toll. They pay a lot, like millions of dollars. And it’s real money..”, Aram said.

“Ok.. They pay real money for virtual gratification?.”

“Sort of. However, the ... odd part is that people ask for very nasty things.. Like body parts and... bodies. And – look – it’s very lurid”, Aram really didn’t want to go into any other details.

“What the fuck?”, Ressler gasped.

“I told you, it’s lurid. And gross. And someone wanted a …a dead baby”, Aram said in one breath.

Donald was in shock and already hated that he had to share this horridness with Liz.

“Ok… this Chandler Zig took the quest.”

“And did.. did he?.. What did he do?”, Ressler couldn’t think straight.

“We don’t know the outcome. But there’s something else you should know. This Chandler Zig actually owns Lucius Toll”, Aram added.

“But he is nowhere to be found.. ”

“No driver’s license, no security number, no bank account. And Mr. Reddington didn't tell us who placed bounty.”

“Aram, just for me to get it right: this guy who owns an app on the dark net where people pay serious money to play a sick game enrolls himself as participant in his own game? And there is someone who has a bounty on his head? But we don't know who the guy is”

“Correct”, Aram replied quite thrilled to be on the same page with his colleague.

“Why would he want to be a contestant in his own game? It's like stealing from his own pocket and murdering a...”, Ressler couldn't finish that sentence.

“We don’t know for sure.”

“And what’s the lead Reddington gave you?”

“Well.. the intel on the app itself it’s the starting point here. The tech team is now working on it. It’s quite the app, actually. The coding is next-level and the security.. Not an easy one to break.”

“What else?”

A bit disappointed by Ressler’s dismissing the efforts of his tech department, Aram added: “Well, we managed to found 3 users that – let’s say were not smart enough not to use their nicknames for other obscure websites. We are tracking them, Cooper sent Park and Callum on field.

“So it seems you are on top of it, that’s great to hear. It means Liz and I can continue to enjoy our vacation”, Ressler locked eyes with Liz.

“Yes, of course. I just though you should know…”

“Ans now I know…”

“Ok, then.. we’ll talk soon”.

Ressler knew Aram was disappointed of how the conversation ended, but this was not his main concern. Not at that point, at least. He also knew the purpose of the call was to mention the return of Reddington.

“What was that about?”, Liz asked as he put the phone away.

Luckily for Ressler, Agnes and Robbie were back from the coffee cart with some snacks, so Liz would have to wait for the horrible insights.

“Gummy worms?”, the girl asked him showing the bag of sweets.

“Just one, thank you!", he politely accepted the offer. “You know, there’s some cheesecake waiting at home that I really want to eat…”

“Really? Cheesecake?”. He absolutely caught her interest.

“Yes, but you know the rule...”

The little girl sighed and handed over the entire bag of gummy worms to Liz, excited about the cheesecake, her favorite thing in the world.

“Don’t feel bad, Robbie, she has a sweet tooth like no one elses. And she knows how to take advantage of nice people like you”, Liz said hiding the bag of helly in her bag. “She once tricked our colleague Aram to buy her 5 candy bars for the vending machine…”

***

It was later that day when they had another chance to talk again. The preparations for the guests were nearly done, so Liz and the Resslers brothers went to enjoy a beer on the porch.

“We need to check that warehouse”, Robbie said. “I only drove by it, but didn’t enter there myself."

Donald was not into the idea proposed: “I’d look more into the property, I can ask Aram to check it. We can tell him a relative wants to rent it or buy it..”

“What if Reddington’s name appears somewhere? You know Aram..”, Liz sounded alarmed.

“Don’t worry, we can also look into it ourselves, we’ll figure it out”, he said as he slowly touched her shoulders. “I don’t think there will be too many questions if I go to the local office here and look up for some leads on a case.”

Liz was not convinced tough. She had a bad feeling about it that she could not verbalize.

With Robbie finishing his beer first and going inside, it was the first time that day when the two of them were together.

“So.. what about that case Aram told you? Does Cooper need us?”

“He would have called. So, no. I don’t think we are needed now.”

“Aram called only to let us know Reddington stepped by the Post Office”, Liz concluded.

“That is one messed up blacklister, if anything about the story turns out to be truth”, he replied not wanting to mention Reddington directly.

“That bad, huh?”

“I’ll scare you later…”, he smirked. “But yes – I think it’s not about him getting in touch with us, with the team, with you, it’s about how he we wanted his return to be.”

Liz looked puzzled: “And how would that be?”

“Memorable”, he answered as he took another sip of his beer.

“Do you think he knows about what we are doing here?”, she asked as her eyes clouded.

Don put his arms around her and comforted her with a long hug.

“I doubt he knows the real reason why we are here. Even if he has people following us, we don’t do anything out of the ordinary so he can get suspicious."

The probability of being followed made Liz cringe and Donald knew it. In any case, this was a discussion for another time since he has never told her about the encounter with Dembe. Opening the topic would make it too complicated.

However, as he was holding her closely, he realized something: 

“Liz, why would you think Reddington would want us to find this guy?”

“He owns him money?”, Liz joked avoiding the real answer.

Ressler laughed. “Probably, it seems it’s worth quite a fortune this dark web app.” He took a step back so he can look at her.

“I think he wants the intel; he wants to see who has been asking for these heinous services. Those were not pretty things, Liz…”

“You still haven’t told me the whole story. But – it sounds just like something Reddington would be into.” Just saying his name out loud made her a bit jittery, so she looked down trying to control her feelings.

Ressler remembered he still had some beer left, giving her some space to get rid of the negative emotions.

“So a horror story you say?”, she did her best to come back from that darker corners of her mind.

“Yes, perfect for bed time.."

And once again, they were both smiling.

***

“I got it”, Park said and headed over to the other end of the counter so she can pay for the beers, leaving Aram with their new temporary colleague, Agent Michael Callum.

Aram didn’t feel too comfortable to say something in her absence. It was not yet clear to him how much he knows about how the Task Force works and operates. He also felt jealous because of the action in the field, a thing he was not enjoying to often. This time, Cooper made it clear he needs to orchestrate the Tech Team.

“So no other leads from your peers”, Callum broke the eyes.

“Working on that…”, Aram replied.

“I was afraid of that based on the initial briefing. Not an easy one, right?”

Aram sighed.

“Do you often deal with this level of oddness?”

“It can get weird”, said Park who has just returned. She eyed Callum and icily said: “Now we’re even!” which made Aram squint.

“He paid for lunch”, she said towards Aram as she noticed his confusion. He nodded to her and said:

“What it’s still not clear to me is how this woman knew about the app”.

Earlier that day, Park and Callum travelled to Hartford to interrogate a woman named Norma Danes. It turned out she was an unhappy wife who only wanted to take revenge on her husband. He was cheating on her with one of her friends. Norma used the app Lucius Toll to ask for the hair of his mistress and paid 500k.

“Well, let’s see.. what these socialite ladies do all day at the spa? Playing with their phones”, Callum answered.

“It’s dark web, Callum”, Park said. “These women post selfies on Instagram, few of them actually know how to google for things.

“Someone must have told her about it. We should talk to some of her friends, see how tech savy they are”, Callum concluded.

Park and Aram exchanged a glance.

“We have her laptop and phone in custody, we’ll find out how much of an expert she actually is”, Aram said trying to put an end to this conversation. Each of them focused on their drinks and on the conversations resumed, they made it about non-work-related things.

“He’s not that bad”, Park told Aram after Callum left them. “I mean, he is no Ressler or Keen, but he is charming. Makes people talk right away.”

“Glad to hear it…”, an unawed Aram answered.

“It’s strange, tough. How she knows about it. She also didn’t ask for a lawyer. I’ve always imagined tich women that are cheated have a lawyer on speed dial..”

Aram laughed.

“This is an app for very-very rich people. Rich people have their own way of entertainment.” As he said this, his mind travelled to Elodie. After all, her company brought him some unusual ways of experiencing leisure.

“Did you call them?”, Park asked.

It took a second for Aram to realize the question was not about his ex.

“I did. But I am afraid you’d have to work with Callum. Ressler and Keen are still off duty this week and.. not that eager to resume the collaboration with Reddington. I have a feeling they’ll stay there longer”.

Park bit her lip.

“Why do you think Cooper assigned Callum?”

“Because he’s good with influencing the witnesses, I told you: he can be very charming”, she answered.

“Reddington charming?”, Aram looked at his colleague who suddenly felt as if there is something more to it.

“Do you think he is… linked to Reddington?”, she asked.

Aram took the last sip of his beer.

“We’d need to fish it from Cooper, one way or another. But, Aram… maybe we should just be careful with him?”

“It might be wiser, yeah…”

***

Harold Cooper was preparing to leave home when Reddington made a 2nd appearance at the Post Office.

“Nothing worth sharing at this point”, he said before being asked anything.

Reddington seated himself on one of the chairs, placing his hat on the desk.

“No Dembe?”, Cooper was truly surprised to see the criminal without his trusted partner.

“Only me, Harold. Dembe has other business to take care of”, came in the answer.

“There’s something wrong. What is it? Keen? Ressler?”

“We both know Elizabeth is an ace at putting herself out there, as a moving target. That she dragged Donald with her, that’s a different story. But now that’s not a main concern”, Reddington said on a flat tone.

“You are not worried that they could be hurt?”

“They won’t be, my people are taking care of this, Harold. It has become business as usual. My main concern now is how things progress with Mr. Zig. It is essential to find him. Soon. Preferably, alive.”

“So you can collect the bounty?”

“Oh, Harold, it’s adorable how you think you know me so well!”, Reddington chuckled.

Cooper leaned on his chair waiting for Red’s number to be done. After a short silence he asked: “What is that you want?”

“We know each other for a long time. So I’ll tell you this: the app he owned is like a jewelry box. The crown jewels. There would be things there that you’d like to have, I’d need and some of my powerful enemies would desperately want.”

Cooper was too tired for Red’s parables, so he cut it short: “We’ll give you more insights once we get it.”

Red smiled to him, took his fedora and graciously put it on.

“Elizabeth and Donald should be safe. At least for as long they don’t stir other muddy waters”. He turned and left Cooper’s office.

***

In Liz’s head there were many battles taking place. Most of them with herself. Hiding it from people around her felt excruciating at times, made her feel exhausted, sour, in need of shelter. However, this was not one of those situations as what she felt was curiosity towards this crowd. The Resslers’ house was filled with people she has just met and Liz was more than interested in discovering her partner through them. She enjoyed the stories about the rebellious teenage years, the sport tournaments, the fishing trips, the college years. All of them offered a heart-to-hear welcome to both her and Agnes and made them feel part of the family. Only later in the evening she realized that expecting unfriendliness and enquiries was a projection of her tired mind. It was an epiphany that helped her navigate lightly through the rest of night. Out of the sudden, what she felt was content and a new level of energy.

Later that night, as they were huddling into the coach, Don asked her:

“Be honest: how overwhelmed are you by all this?”

She rubbed his forearm and giggled somehow impressed of how well he knows her.

“I know, he continued, with a muffled voice there were a lot of people tonight… Big family, enthusiastic mom..”

“Tell me about it…”, she smiled and turned so she could face him. “I needed this. Normality. Good people, lovely stories – especially that about one special maverick…”

Ressler couldn’t hide his contentedness. He absolutely enjoyed that she seemed to be amused by that part of his life.

“Thank you…”, Liz said ghastly.

“You don’t have to thank me, Liz. I am happy to share the coach with you again”, he tried a joke to lighten up the mood.

“And the quilt”, she replied taking him by surprise and they both laughed.

“No, thank you for this, all this. For the patience you’ve had with me...”. Liz took his hand in hers.

He leaned over to innocently kiss her shoulder.

“I loved this sense of normality, I want this. Instead, I have Reddington who’s idea of a normal life mean destroying others…”

Ressler’s eyes moved from Liz to the coffee table placed in front of them. It was not the time nor the place, but he had to say it because the words were burning in his chest:

“I don’t hate Reddington”, he took a deep breath as Liz retracted her hand, then continued:

“I hate what he did to you, to Katarina, to Dom. I hate how treats us as his pets. I hate that he put you through so much. But he brought you to me, Liz.”

Ressler wanted to take her by the hand, but was afraid she will reject him. So, he continued his grinding confession:

“I ask myself how our lives would be without him. If he never existed. The answer scares me. You wouldn’t be safe because of your heritage. It kills me to even think of it…”

“And you?” Her voices sounded tearful. Ressler knew she was sobbing and deliberately avoided looking straight at her.

“What life? The 80 hours per week dealing with rascals that don’t even matter while the big guys would continue to do their thing? I would still be haunted by what happened in my teenage years, feeling like crap, playing the boy-scout card and refusing to let anyone get close to me?”

Liz wiped her tears, fighting hard not to say something that would be out of place.

“Reddington with his damn blacklist gave a meaning to this job. I can’t hate him for that. And there it was you that came along…”

He turned his head in her direction only to see her weeping and biting her lip.

“I’m sorry, I should have not said anything”, he said. “I’m sorry, Liz!”

“What hurts the most is that I can’t disagree. I would have probably been dead by now.”

Ressler placed his arm around her.

“It’s so messed up. Will it ever be different?”, she asked resting her head on his shoulder.

He kissed her forehead before saying: “That’s what we are doing.”

Feeling his breath in her hair instantly calmed her. She pushed her body closer to his, so he can effortlessly embrace her. In many other times, they successfully managed to ignore the arousal and the tension between their bodies. Now was not one of those times, even if the time and the place were far from ideal.

But as things were heating up between the two, one of their phones started vibrating on the coffee table flashing Cooper’s name. They tried to ignore at first, thinking it will go to voice mail. Cooper, however, was persistent and the phone continued to ring.

“It seems important, not that this isn’t…” Don whispered in Liz’s ear. She escaped his embrace to get the phone and handed it over to him.

“Sir, everything OK?”, Ressler put a lot of effort trying not to sound throttled.

“I wanted to check on you. I apologize for the late hour. It has been a long day here..”

“Yes, Aram told me you have a new blacklister. Is there anything we can help with?” Liz closed her eyes hoping the answer will be negative.

“I am not calling for that. Reddington came to see me tonight. It was about he case, but he said something that got me worried.”

“Sir?”, Ressler locked eyes with Liz.

“I strongly believe Red has you under surveillance”, Cooper said without any other delay.

“Is there any reason for this other than his own vanity with knowing what we are doing?

“Agent Ressler, I am confident Reddington wants you safe. I am not yet aware of the threat. I think – tough – we should trust Reddington judgement for now. It’s not easy for me to say that.”

“Got it, sir”.

“That would be all. I will be in touch. Enjoy your vacation and send my best to Liz”.

Ressler rolled over his back and sighed.

“What’s happening?”, Liz was on edge of panic.

“Cooper wanted us know we are being followed.”

“Why?”

“No idea…”

She laid next to him on the narrow coach.

“We just need to be careful with what we will be doing in the next days. I’m thinking that.. we can step in this new case so we can raise no suspicions and be able to use the Office’s DB, he said.

“Promise me something: in our next vacation we’ll have at least a queen size bed”, she told him cuddling at his chest.”


	3. Love is blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While in Detroit, Elizabeth Keen, Donald Ressler and his brother, Robbie, kick off their own investigation to discover Reddington's true identity. But things never go as planned...

It was already his third lap around the park. The plan was to run for 1 hour and then return home. One hour of running. 12 laps around the park. He knew the math.

The pavement hungrily swallowed his steps, one by one, as he was trying to keep the rhythm with the loud music coming from his air pods.

Another lap completed and the only real effort for Ressler was to disconnect his mind from what happened in the last days, months, years. Running. His escape.

His body seemed to know quite well what to expect from this run; his feet were moving steadily while his lungs were wicking the cold air in satisfaction. He enjoyed it. He needed it.

But thoughts were shifting in his head with such ferocity that every other minute he was speeding up the pace. Was he running from what was in his head? Probably, yes.. From the ampleness of his mind, there was only one conceit he wanted to keep for a longer time, intimately, letting it settle it wholly within him. _Liz…_ Liz and her shattered soul and him not able to glue it up together. He wanted her to be safe, he wanted her to feel happy, he wanted her. _Her._

Liz’s cloudy eyes, Liz’s long drawn silence, Liz’s lack of reaction to anything around her.

Liz who has been put through the craziest situations without her knowledge, and not just once. Liz who’s bad choices have been defense mechanisms. Liz whose hell was still unleashed. _Liz…_

It was now his 6th lap.

Liz who seemed to enjoy bits of this time off even if they hardly could call it a vacation. Liz who silently came in the living room, joining him on the narrow couch every night since they have been in Detroit. _Liz…_

Ressler knew his only real challenge during that night run had to do with keeping his mind on track.

But the reality kicked in sooner than expected once his eyes spotted two familiar silhouettes at the end of alley he was just turning right.

“What a beautiful night for a run, Donald!”, Reddington remarked with his arms wide open as if he would embrace someone. Next to him, there was Dembe with whom Ressler preferred to make the eye contact. Dembe looked away from him, tough, checking the surroundings for unexpected surprises. The tall man was not comfortable.

“I always tell myself I should do…”, he gesticulated towards the Agent’s jog gear. “But then I remember.. I am always on a run!”, he started laughing.

“Yeah.. well.. Criminals who are not put away tend to be in this position”, Ressler barked to him as a real police man.

“I thought we were passed this game of cat-and-mouse , Donald”, came the answer. Reddington was still smiling cheerful which annoyed Ressler.

“Cut the act, Reddington. What the hell are you doing here? What is that you want?”

Red smiled for one second, after which his expressions turned to a more serious one, one that Ressler knew well.

“I am guessing the vacation is going well”, he said in one breath. “Lisa must be happy to have you all around!”

It was Ressler’s turn to laugh. But it was an angry laugh, filled with rage.

“Screw you!”, he yelled stepping towards the older man and pointing out to him. “YOU! SCREW YOU!”

Dembe moved in front of Red, anticipating Ressler’s intention to punch him in the face.

“Are you done?”, Reddington asked on a low tone and took a sit on the bench next to them.

Still infuriated, Ressler felt like throwing up, so he bent down with the hand on his knees. He was breathing heavily.

“Donald, you have to listen to Raymond.” Hearing Dembe talk surprised Ressler enough to lift himself up.

“Is Liz in any danger?”, he asked trying to temper his angered voice, but he was still feeling hot-blooded.

“Why else would I be here?”

“You tell me…”, Ressler felt cocky saying it and noticed the hesitation on Red's side. He knew the man made a significant effort to control himself, so he continued:

“Leaving aside what you did to Katarina and thousands of other terrible things you’ve done over the years, you have also saved Liz’s life. Not just once. Now – in many of those cases, you were the culprit. But I’ve been in this fucked-up journey with you long enough to know you want her alive and.. if you wanted to.. dispose of her, of me, of Cooper, you would have done it long ago.” Ressler bit his lips not to go one any further.

“You and I have always been alike, Donald. I know, I know – you don’t like being told this. It can be a discussion for another time, I surely would enjoy it. But I am telling you one thing: we have in common: we are both adamant about protecting Elizabeth”.

Ressler sighed. He shook his head and took a sit on the bench, next to Reddington, feeling exhausted from the discussion more than from the physical effort.

“What do I need to know?”, he asked.

Red turned his head to face him.

“I may have killed that woman. Unfortunately, that didn’t fix things. What she did cannot be undone.”

Ressler rolled his eyes at Red.

“I need you to find Chandler Zig and hand me over the data he collected through his app", Red said.

“The case you assigned?”

“So you’ve heard of it, excellent! I assumed that would be the case”, Reddington sounded pleased with himself.

Ressler didn’t enjoy the sudden change of topic. His question was clear and concise.

“So you’re not gonna tell me anything about Liz being in danger and who and why is after her?”

“You are doing a great job protecting her. I will tell you when we need to step in.”

“Are you still following us?”

“Silly question, Donald.”, Reddington got up. “Quite chilly this November… “Are you gonna continue your run?”

***

“Agnes told me about her grandmother.”

Liz turned to face Lisa, ignoring the phone on the counter. She was more than surprised to hear this coming from the woman standing in front of her. She tried to ignore the lingering presence of Scotty as much as she could. Being far from her home made it easier.

“Is she helping you with Agnes when you are at work?”, Lisa asked looking briefly to the living room where Agnes was watching Ariel.

“Uhmm.. not exactly…”

Although she wanted to say yes and easily wrap-up a nice story about how great it is to have Scotty around, being honest and taking this out of her chest felt better. She felt understood by Lisa, they connected easily. The woman emanated trust and was a great listener. 

“Scotty took care of Agnes for a while, when I was in a comma and a bit after so I can recover and get my life back on track. I will always be grateful for that."

Liz took a deep breath and threw a glance at the older woman who, just like Don, looked empathetic and always seemed to have the right words to offer comfort.

“But we have different parenting styles”, she added. “We want Agnes to be happy, of course. But I want her to also have a normal life, not a princess life. I want her to realise what she wants to be, to do and.. not be told these things by me, by anyone or be offered presents just to do something.”

“I understand you, Elizabeth. All children need to find their own way, I’ve been a teacher for a while now, I've seen how it goes. My sonds.. well, I don't know how happy they are, but they seem fine doing what they want...", she and Liz exchanged a smile. "Well.. you will be happy to hear that what Agnes was telling me is how much she loves her room at your house because you allow her to arrange it, place things how she wants it”, Lisa tapped Liz’s shoulder as empowering as she could trying to make her feel the moral support.

“Scotty has quite the apartment, it’s a town house – actually. Quite beautifully furnished, very elegant. Agnes’s room there is like in a magazine, but she is not allowed to do too much, it was a given…”

“This really bothers her it seems”, Lisa was eyeing Liz. 

“I never realised it… Thank you for telling me!”, Liz felt this is a real epiphany. How could she not notice it before? 

“She also told me about her school projects. It seems she has a fully equipped team to support her”, the woman laughed imaging how her own son had been helping out with homework he always complaint about during his own school years.

As Liz offered to show some pictures of Donald taken as he was working on some of these projects, the phone buzzed showing Aram’s name on screen.

Liz hesitated a second before ignoring the call.

“I know Aram is your colleague at the office, you can answer if you have to. Don’t mind me!”

“I can call him back when Don’s back from his run, don’t worry about it…”

Lisa studied Liz’s face and took a deep breath.

“As you wish, but don’t feel guilty because work comes in in the most unexpected times. What you are doing. Not many people can do it. That’s the reality. I was not always happy with Robert disappearing in the middle of the night. But I knew he makes this city a better place not only for our sons. Every morning when I went to school to my 4th graders, looking at those kids, I knew they are safe too because of Robert going out to do his job…”

Liz was left speechless, eyes full of tears. She closed her eyes to avoid the crying.

“I am afraid they want us back in DC and… I need more time here..”, she said. And she was feeling guilty because it was not just about spending time with Lisa. 

“You can go to DC for a few days, solve whatever case you have. Then, return here. You know I would be happy to take care of Agnes, she can join my class or we can enroll her in my friend's 1st grade class with", Lisa reassured Liz.

“I am immensely grateful for what you have just said”, Liz wiped her eyes and hugged her.

***

The morning after Cooper called, Liz and Don decided to reach out to Aram to find out more about the Chandler Zig case. Their help was clearly needed by the Task Force, but nobody officially asked them to jump in. Therefore, the two agents agreed to work around that for a while. The plan was to mainly focus on their own investigation, but also keep connected to what FBI is progresing with the latest blacklister. During this time, Lisa, who was a 4th grade teacher, took Agnes with her. The girls was happy to be there, she was kept busy and this allowed them to spend time working on their own leads, but also joining a briefing on Zig from the FBI office in Detroit.

They’ve met Robbie after breakfast and drove together to the warehouse. The three of them circled the perimeter trying to understand what those well-kept, red brick buildings are hiding. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to see anything beyond the wall. They didn’t feel comfortable enough to jump the fence since it was quite tall. They’ve tried the regular chcks on Google Earth, but that was too generic. Robbie suggested a drone, but even he realized it will trigger too much attention. 

There were only two things they could do at that time: continue to watch the warehouse from various angles, at different times and get a satellite view of it, once they could access the FBI system.

For three and a half hours they stayed in the car waiting for something to happen, someone to appear. The lack of activity around there made the whole thing looking even more intriguing. 

It was past noon when they finally saw a black SUV going in and what surprised them the most was too see the gate was masked by a part of the wall. The car quickly got in once the gate automatically opened. 

They couldn’t see the plates of that car, but used a camera to zoom in enough to get it.

“They must have cameras hidden and not just there…I doubt there is only one entry.”

“Do you think we are exposed?”, Robbie asked and both Liz and Donald could feel his panic.

“I think we have let enough between, also it was a good idea to rent a car…”, Liz said trying to sound calm.

“Look, we will be in the office this afternoon. I will see what we can do to find out more about it. It's not deserted, the gate installed looks quite modern and it's clear they want a high level of security. Now let’s take off..”

***

They adjourned to Robbie’s apartment shortly after that to have lunch and a much needed cup of coffee. Liz seated herself on the coach texting Aram to find out the latest updates on the Zig case, while Robbie and Don were getting busy in the kitchen looking into take out options.

It wasn’t even noon, but Liz already felt tired. It was that familiar weariness that pushed heavily on her chest. As she let her head fall on the back of the couch and, taking a deep breath, she tried to empty her head of all the thoughts. For the first time since she arrived in Detroit, anxiety started to ensoul. It was a familiar feeling this one, feeling trapped, no way out, but what made it worse was the permanent fatigue that came with it and not only that she felt weak and powerless, she also felt guilty for not being able to actively participate to anything around her.

“You OK?”, she heard the words coming from the kitchen. He, again, worries, and has no energy to move her head and thank him for being worried about her even if she doesn’t deserve it. For being there for her despite the hecticness of her life. For being with her.

Liz bit her lips hoping the pain that came with it will make her feel something else apart from the constant anguish. Her eyes suddenly opened as the metallic taste of blood spread insider her mouth. He was now standing in the hallway glancing her.

“I am a bit tired, sorry. That coffee will help..”

He smiled: “Almost ready…”

Liz also cracked a smile looking him in the eyes.

“We’re meeting Michaels, the FBI guy, at 1.30, he confirmed in a text. We should be able to use the office this afternoon”, Ressler added.

Robbie appeared with a cup of coffee in each of his hands: one for his brother, one for Liz.

“You can take my car, little brother”, he said. “I will return the rental in the meantime.”

The coffee helped Liz focus more on the discussion taking place in front of her.

“Thank you, Robbie!”, she said.

“Don’t mention it!”, Robbie meant it. He constantly reminded Liz of how she saved his life. He was quite dedicated to helping them with this investigation.

Don took a seat on the coach and placed his hand protectively on Liz’s knee.

“Should we call Cooper?”

“No text from Aram.. so it might be best”, she said showing him her last message sent to her colleague.

Donald dialed the number placing the phone between them.

“We’re both here, sir.”

“Good. I made the call to the local office.”

“An Agent Michaels confirmed with me. We are expected this afternoon to meet him.”

“I’ve asked for you to be able to use the video conference system, so we can have a proper meeting.”

“Is there anything else? Any leads found by Aram and Park?”, Liz asked.

“Yes and no. The discussion with two of the leads didn’t take us anywhere. We have their phones and laptops in custody. However, their access to this app has been retrieved which makes it impossible to access anything in there. The whole thing is crypted, the IT team is still working on it.”

“Other leads? I recall there were 3 users identified”, Resslers asked.

“The email address has been accessed from many IPs, all over the US. We cannot link it to something or someone”, Cooper sighed before continued: “This is why your expertise and fresh look matters, so the team and I appreciate that you can help even if you are on vacation.”

Liz and Donald exchanged a glance. She caressed his hand without saying anything.

“No problem, sir. I will reach out once we are in the office.”

“I will ensure Aram shares all the relevant files with the two of you.”

“Thank you, sir. Will talk soon.”

The sound of the front door opening surprised Liz, who got up to check it. Donald pulled her back next to him, looking her in the eyes.

“It’s Robbie, the food should have arrived. He said to deliver in front of the building, not at the door.”

“Keeping safe?”, she asked him.

“Sort of, yeah”, came the answer. He was still scrutinizing her. “Liz, what’s happening? You seem… away.”

“Nothing, I am just tired”, she said, but knew well she didn’t sound convincing enough. She placed her arms around his neck, huddling at his chest and hoping he will not ask her about it.

“Ok.. I guess I kept you up last night for longer than expected”, he smirked kissing her forehead.

***

“Pleasure to meet you, Agent Keen, Agent Ressler!”

Agent Dean Michaels firmly shook their hands and led the way to the elevator.

“We will go to the 6th floor, that's where we have our special units. I’ve found a corner for you and, as per the request from DC.”

“Thank you, we really appreciate the collaboration. This was a bit unexpected…”, Liz spoke.

“Don’t mention it and please be aware the confidentiality of whatever you do is and will be kept here. You are safe”, the man replied.

“That’s appreciated, thanks, we don’t yet know with what we are dealing… ”, Donald was doing his best to leave a door open in case they’d require additional help. The latest blacklister was not yet linked to a place. It was not a long shot that they might need someone here to step in and help out

After a quick tour of the office and a few introductions so they can know all of the key people around the Detroit office, Liz and Donald made themselves comfortable and took over the assigned desks that were to be found, literally, in a corner, far from the eyes of the rest. Donald travelled with his laptop, so he hooked it up and quickly logged in to look into the files Aram had shared. Next to him, Liz was texting Lisa to check up on Agnes before they kicked off the case. She wanted to make her aware they might be end up dragged into something that would make them unavailable later in the day. 

“Your mom is an angel”, she whispered to her partner.

“Like mother, like son…” Don’s joke made Liz flash a smile.

Liz decided it would be better to agree on this one particular aspect later, perhaps over a drink or two. During the lunch at Robbie's place, she came to the realization she desperately wants some time with just Don. Just the two of them. Spending the last couple nights on the couch, next to him, felt good. She felt safe, she was able to have some rest. She also enjoyed being cared for. His arms, his lips. But she wanted to see where this would take them. She turned off this thought as she reached out for the keyboard of the computer that was assigned to them. She connected to also check all the info available in advance of the video call with the team in DC.

***

“It doesn’t make sense”, Ressler said scratching his head.

Liz was pacing around the small video room they were in. This was not an easy one to crack. 

On the 50 inch screen, they could see a small part of the war room at the DC Post Office where Cooper, Aram, Park, Callum and a couple of other colleagues joined for the meeting.

“No, it doesn’t”, Aram spoke shyly. “I mean it somehow does, but.. it’s weird. They’ve made everything disappear – all the data related to the users just vanished.” His voice was trembling.

“But help me understand - if you install something on your phone and then uninstall it, you still have the cache with all the activity. Right?”, Donald was feeling frustrated.

“Normally yes, but this is a dark web app. It works differently...”, 

“Ok, let’s leave this for now, we don't get anywhere", Ressler waved his hand. "Park, did you talk to both leads we have so far? How did they seem to you?”

Liz took a seat next to Ressler noticing how Park was glancing Callum, their new helper.

“Both very similar. Wealthy women, extravagant lifestyle, no job, no real occupation, in their 40s, childless. They wanted to take revenge for being cheated by their husbands. That seems to be the reason behind it...”

“How did they found out about the app?”, Ressler asked.

“Well.. Apparently it’s quite a popular app in their circles. They both said they heard of it from friends.”

“And did you talk to these friends?”, Ressler was losing his patience.

“Yes. All confirmed they know of it, but not using it.”

“Why is this app so popular?”, Liz asked.

“Because it helps you take revenge?”, Callum rhetorically asked.

“I saw in the file that our second lead, Tasha, asked for the fingers of her husband’s mistress, but she backed up", said Ressler. "Quite.. nasty revenge?!"

“Yes, she told us it was a cruel joke. She wanted just to scare the woman”, Callum spoke.

“But who makes these sick jokes?” Ressler was again scratching the top of his head.

“A deranged person”, replied Park from behind the screen.

“Not quite...” Liz turn to face Ressler. “These women are quite young, healthy, beautiful, they have money and everything money can buy, they live a luxurious life, they have friends – quite a few, based on all the names collected so far. Also – It’s common for a spouse to cheat. Yes, being cheated triggers a lot of negative feelings and a lot of internal struggles. But in most cases it doesn't leave to murder or anything like it. It leads to crumbling their inner balance, it's all about low self-esteem. They feel imperfect, they feel not good enough, they make compare themselves to others, in our case - the mistress...”

“Their plan would be to get even by.. let’s say ruin the perfect world of the other woman…”, Ressler concludes. “I guess it makes sense, I think the revenge for these people is more related to bank accounts and stuff like that. Besides, they don’t seem the cold blooded killer type…”

“No, they are just confused, unhappy women”, Liz was doing her best not to let out that she felt the same most of the time.

She looked at some of the notes taken and continued:

“I think what we need to do is to keep up looking into how this app became such a hit. Someone, from all these names, has to remember how it suddenly appeared in their lives…”

“Good, Agent Keen!”, Cooped voiced over. “Aram, any thoughts on how we do this?”

“Well, it is probably one oddly targeted marketing campaign... but I have no insights so far. But.. I just got an idea, I will ask a buddy of mine who is marketer some stuff so we can understand how this could be done...”

“We do need to find the 3rd lead. If it’s the same profile… We narrow down the targeting criteria”, Ressler said. "Any news about there?"

“Well, the person that used the email seems to travel a lot. Most of the logins were from airport wi-fis..”

“Did someone in the team actually managed to access this app?”, Ressler continued his inquiry.

“Uhmmm…”

“What? Don’t you have a link or something?”

“Not really… What we had… disappeared. We told you.”

Cooper took off his glasses and started massaging his eyes. He knew the outcome will not be quite what Ressler was expecting and the overall briefing was not as fruitful as expected.

“But that was behind the FBI firewall.. how could they retrieve anything after all?”

“This is the really strange part, Agent Ressler…”

“So we have nothing at all…”

Liz felt how edgy her partner was becoming, so she stepped in:

“Sir, we need to talk again with these two women and connect to as many of their friends…”

“That’s what we will do…”

Ressler got out of the door without a word. Liz decided to give him some space too cool off, so she stayed in the video room behind him. She dropped a note to Park and Callum with a few angles on how the app could have become popular and made suggestions on what their friends to be asked.

When she finished the email about 15 minutes later, she noticed Ressler talking over the phone in a corner of the joint room. He seemed calm, and that made her feel better. Once he finished the conversation, he returned to the video room:

“Let’s just leave.. We can continue later, it’s not like we have something clear to explore…”

They were now in the main lobby of the building, ready to exit, when Liz stopped and looked at him. Both of them have been quiet until then.

“Let’s have a drink. I feel like drinking a glass of whiskey.”

“Shouldn’t Happy Hour start after 5, Liz?”

“Do you care that much about the time?”

He sighed.

“How’s Agnes? All good?”

“Very. She’s at your cousin’s place, more interested to build things out of lego bricks than in me…”, Liz spoke in a soft voice. She was quite raddled to see her daughter discovering a new passion that didn’t have anything to do with ballet shoes and dolls.

Don’s face lighted up: “So a drink you say?”

“Yes. And I also say no lego for Agnes for the time being…”, she took him by the arm so they can continue the walk together.

“I called Aram and asked him to get me a satellite view of that warehouse.”

“Nothing in the DB?”

“Not in the general one, no. It’s like the building doesn’t exist. I didn’t want to risk anything, so I kept away from other searching options that would check my clearence.”

“It should not take long for him to get it, you know Aram..”

Don nodded.

Park was starting to feel annoyed. She could sense Callum shared her mood. Chiara Reynolds, the woman sitting across the table, spent the last 41 minutes talking about how much she hates other women. All women, especially the younger ones. Her husband has been playing around for some time now, but this new conquest was more than she could take it.

This was how Chiara justified her intention to use the app and ask for a dirty, bloody service that would make her even with the ladyfriend. Her intention was to scare the mistress by cutting her face. A scar to compensate for stealing her husband.

Park couldn’t notice how despite the crying, her make up was still intact.

“Mrs. Reynolds, what I am trying to understand is how did you get that app?”

“I just.. hated her. But you are young, you cannot understand me, the situation... I have waisted my youth on him…”

Park rolled her eyes.

“Mrs. Reynolds.. Chiara.. You’ve told us some of your other friends knew of this service and how it works. Did any of them told you about how to use it?, Callum stepped in feeling Alina’s annoyance radiating through her pores.

“No.. I mean yes, everybody knows. Who wants to get their hands dirty, right?”, she wiped her eyes. Mascara still intact.

“That’s true, but look..”, he moved closer to her and touched her arm taking Alina by surprise. “I want to help you, this has not been easy on you and I can see that.” He cupped her hand.

Chiara started to cry again.

“So tell me.. do you remember who showed you this app?”

“Many knew of it, I already said. But I’ve decided to.. I enabled my account after my therapist told me I should try it and... She told me it will make me feel better.”

“We’d need to talk to this therapist, Mrs. Reynolds”.

Park suddenly felt like smiling.

About 15 minutes later, the two agents were in the war room where Aram was briefing them on Anna Clarke.

“She doesn’t take in new patients, there isn’t even a waiting list”, Aram informed them. “We cannot get any insights on her list of customers either, that’s confidential. We’re looking into everything we can get on her or any other patients of hers.”

“I’ll get a warrant, but...”,

“What, sir?”

“Reddington made me think it is more to this. I think we need a different approach here.”

Park swallowed her words, but her hesitation to talk was not left unnoticed by the others.

“I know that part of Manhattan, it will not be difficult to observe who comes in to see her. We just need to stay under her radar 1-2 days and get a profile of her patients. Then, we can think of next steps. Like the warrant.”

“Do you know what’s strange?”, Park asked flipping to some of the prints on the desk. “She doesn’t seem to have been a top student. And she finished community college...”

The others were quizzically looking at her.

“Well… maybe she perfected her skillset after college”, I guess it can happen she said for herself.

“Another reason why I think we need to play it differently. Some things just don’t add up”,

“When is Keen returning She’d enjoy this profiling”, Park said.

Cooper threw a glance at her.

“Agent Park, you make a great point here.”

***

“It’s hard for me to talk about….”, Liz frowned. She didn’t know how to continue.

“Liz, it’s me. And this a glass of whiskey, so I am pretty sure you have no reason to feel like you should censor whatever is that you want to talk about.” Donald took a sip of his drink.

“I know, Don...” She sighed and added unready: “This – the way I’m feeling – I want you to know it has nothing to do with you.”

Ressler put down the glass feeling he might spill the drink.

“This came out wrong..”

He didn’t know if it wise to say anything, so he let her continue as he was trying to read her revved face.

She cupped her face trying to find the right words.

“The whole thing.. I was so close of finding out some answers to understand who I am, then everything blew up in my face. Seeing Katarina being shot…” She whispered the last part not because there might be others listening, but because remembering it hurt her. Ressler felt her pain.

“I know I am not OK, I am well aware what this is and I…”, she gulped.

“Liz…” She put her hand over his.

“No, let me finish”, she gave him half of smile. “What I have felt since Katarina… I feel like I am under water. All the time. And I feel it’s too much of an effort to raise my head above to take a breath of fresh air and feed my lungs. This is not because of you or because of because of anyone, actually.”

“I wish I could do more”, he said clearly moved by her confession.

“I felt like this for days, I can’t sleep, I can’t think straight – but you know it already. How many times you had to remind me about the basic things? I just fail at everything… being a field agent, a mom..”

“That’s far from the truth, Liz. You’ve been through some rough things.”

“But is this a good excuse for being like I am now? I am a trained professional who should control emotions…”, she hesitates again.

“Liz, why did you want to talk about this now?”

“In my head, the discussion was very different than what I managed to verbalise”, she gives him a soft laugh. “See? Even this I cannot do.”

“We can leave it for another time then..” He wanted to add more, but his phone started ringing flashing Aram’s name.

“This is weird”, Aram says without any introduction.

“I bet it is, but why exactly?”

“I got some pics for you, I am now sending them. The warehouse looks like a fortress, like a labyrinth. Very bold construction. It’s clearly made like this to protect something important. However – if you look for the address location in any database, it shows you a crocked building, much smaller… Weird, right?”

“Anything on the owner?”

“That’s another weird thing. It appears as private residence, but there is no name anywhere. But I am looking in other places.”

“Keep safe, Aram. And thanks!”

“Bad news?”, Liz asked the moment he put the phone down.

“Interesting news”, he replied with a smirk.

“Don, what I said – that I feel tired to get my head from under the water for air – each time I am doing that, focusing on breathing, you’re there, keeping me above the water longer and longer..”

“That’s good, I think”, he said softly.

She nodded.

On the table, between them, Ressler’s phone flashed a text.

“So dinner’s ready”, he said cheerfully.

***

“So, what’s the catch?”, Robbie heard from behind him. He spent the entire afternoon walking on the small alleys that surrounded the warehouse. He tried to do it discreetly, looking up for an imaginary dog. He was even thinking of taking Barkley, but didn’t want to raise his mother’s suspicions. This was to be kept secret, as Donald told him.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, it has to be a catch for spending so much time looking at these walls, Robert.”

“How do you know my name? Who the hell are you?”

“You know, you could have created a diversion… Set up a car accident, see who is coming out of those walls..”

Robert felt his blood boiling.

“Go the hell!”

“My God, the language and the choleric personality type. You are not that different from Donald. Maybe you’ve made some poorer choices, but there are still many resemblances. You know, I always wanted a brother to share things with, like secrets.”

“Raymond Reddington…”

“Well, it took you longer than expected. Just like Donald a few years back, when he was tailing me around the world. Fun times!” Reddington smiled and waved towards a car parked 50 feet down the road. “Dembe, come say hi to Robbie. After all, he’s like family!”

Robbie didn’t know if he should fear the man standing in front of him or if he should make him an ally.

“What do you want from me?”

“I should be asking that, Robert”, Red’s voice was even, calm, but felt like a knife in his gout.

**

“Raymond, you scared him”, Dembe sounded worried and this annoyed the older man who replied sharply:

“He will get over it. He’s been through worse, did some bad things himself too”

“You asked him to betray his brother.”

“I doubt he’ll do it, if that help with anything”, Red replied scrutinizing Dembe as it was unlike him to comment on this sort of things. Dembe, feeling the tension, felt relieved when his phone flashed an incoming call. He answered with a simple “Yes” and, not a minute later, said to Reddington:

“Morgan said Ressler went for a run.”

“No rest for the wicked…”, came in the reply as Dembe was setting up the GPS coordinates received via text message.

***

“You look like you’ve enjoyed the run..”, Liz smiled towards Ressler later that evening.

“You have no idea…”, he replied not letting out too much about about his encounter with the man in the hat.

“I feel like I should offer you a protein shake”, she joked.

Ressler smiled to her before getting himself a bottle of water from the fridge.

“It’s past 9... Shouldn’t Agnes be in bed already?”

“She should, yes. She is finding excuses to stay up longer, I am letting her think it works for a few minutes more…”

Ressler stepped to the living room, waving his eyes to the little girl.

“So, Liz.. We need to pack Agnes a pillow and a blanket for tomorrow. If she stays up, she will fall asleep at school or during the ballet class…”

“I will not!”, Agnes replied.

“I don’t know what to say, sweetheart. You know how tired you get to be if you don’t go to bed early. Remember how you fell asleep in the car and missed the zoo?”, he asked her with a very serious face.

Agnes started to worry. She really liked being around older kids in Lisa’s class.

“Didn’t you say there is also ballet tomorrow?”, he was pushing his luck.

Liz appeared in the hallway:

“I guess it will be a pity to sleep during the ballet class...”

From the top of the stairs, Lisa was trying to hide her laughter:

“Well, Agnes – I think even Barkley is feeling sleepy too.. Let’s put you two to bed. Yeah?”

Agnes jumped off of the couch, dragging the blanket after her.

“Ok, ok. I am going to sleep now. And so is Barkley. Lisa said there will be a science project too, and then dancing… Nighty night, mummy. Will you come tuck me?”

“Of course, I am coming in a few minutes. Will I find you ready to sleep? Teeth brushed, PJ on?”. Agnes nodded and, within seconds, she was running up the stairs.

Happy that they were left alone, Liz run to Ressler and pressed her body against him in a tight embrace.

“You might regret this… It was a long run”, he smirked.

“I see”, she laughed and let go of him. “Aram called in earlier. I let it go to voice mail, I felt like I need a break...”

Don kept his smile on, trying to hide his worries. He took a sip of water and decided to call his boss instead. On the other line, Cooper’s voice emerged.

“I’m glad you called, Donald.”

“Let me guess. You need us there”, he said without any other formality.

“Precisely. The office booked you flights for tomorrow noon. I hope it’s enough time to plan around.”

“Should be fine”, Ressler replied.

“We’ll send you over email all the details. We need you in NYC first to discuss with a witness. I trust you’ll inform Elizabeth.”

Next to him, Liz who heard the discussion silently sighed and went to put Agnes to bed not wanting to comment on the order coming from their boss. Ressler took the opportunity to jump in the shower and think of how and what to tell her about Reddington meeting him in the park. The last thing he wanted was to lie to her or hide anything. He made a promise to himself a long time ago that he’ll always be honest with her. Few things he hated more than the fact that she has always been lied to or given small fractions of the truth that hardly made any sense. This was the reason why she was so fragile, so broken. He kept the water cold as a way to keep him lucid in this nebula he was. With his eyes firmly close, he tried to put things together and decide what the next step should be, but the door opening got him startled.

“Shhh!”, she placed a finger on her lips signaling to keep quiet.

“Wha-?” He was lost for words seeing her throwing her clothes on the floor of the bathroom, biting her lower lip, glancing at him playfully. She placed her hands around him, as he walked in the shower cabin trying not to let out any sound when the cold water touched her skin. 

“Sorry…”, he smirked and used his left hand to make the switch to hot water as his right hand was pulling her as close to him as if they were one.


End file.
